Smoking during Pregnancy

It is a proven fact that cigarette smoking can increase the risk of a wide variety of pregnancy complications including premature rupture of membranes, vaginal bleeding and premature placental detachment just as a few examples. One of the effects of smoking during pregnancy is smoking interferes with your absorption of vitamins B and C and folic acid. Neural tube defects results because of lack of folic acid which is caused by smoking. The greatest threat that smoking during pregnancy can bring to the baby is the deprivation of oxygen. Carbon Monoxide and Nicotine from cigarettes join forces to interfere with the umbilical cord and your blood vessels. The probable results are miscarriage, premature birth, stillbirth, birth defects, or stunted growth. The risk continues even after the baby is born. The risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is increased when you smoke during pregnancy. As if these potential risks to your unborne child weren't enough, cigarettes don't stop there. You also face problems in your own body. Any mother who thinks a smaller child may be better for birth will be suprised to learn their smoking habit can greatly disrupt normal birthing. It does this through Placenta Previa and Placental Abruption. In the former, your placenta changes position to cover most or all of the opening in your uterus. In Placental Abruption, the placenta pulls away from the uterine wall almost entirely. Much more, by smoking, the nicotine and carbon monoxide reach not only to the mother's body but also the baby through the placenta. This nocive substances prevent the fetus from getting the nutrients and oxygen needed to grow. Much more, the baby can take the nicotine from the breast milk and in some cases, smoke can lead to severe complications. Seems untrue! But a baby inside a woman’s womb extracts the nutrients essential for its survival as well as oxygen from the mother via the umbilical cord and placenta and then when the mother smokes, the baby becomes vulnerable to the toxic material present in the mothers blood. And due to this reason, in some cases the infant in the womb is deprived of oxygen and it leads to disastrous heart rate increase in the baby. And the final consequence! Well, you can possible visualize the end result. Maternal smoking in pregnancy has been associated with behaviour and attention deficit disorders. Mothers who smoked more than ½ a pack of cigarettes were significantly more likely to have an offspring with conduct disorder. Smoking in pregnancy may also have implications for the long-term physical growth and intellectual development of the child. It has been associated with a reduced height in children of smoking mothers as compared with non-smoking mothers, with lower attainments in reading and mathematics up to age 16 and even with the highest qualification achieved by the age of 23. While your spouse may realize the danger of smoking during her pregnancy, it may not be easy for her to give up smoking. Most smokers who try to give up their addiction suffer a strong craving for cigarettes. You can help her by reminding her that the cravings are only temporary, and by offering your moral support to her.